To rake or not to rake?

After spending 4 hours on Saturday raking and bagging up leaves, I thought to myself why am I doing this? The only answer I could logically come up with is, “well everyone else does”. To me it is about the keeping up with the Jones’ syndrome! You know, when you do things only because all your neighbours do and you don’t want to feel like they are judging your lawn every time they walk by.

So I have done some research to see what other alternatives we have to raking and bagging leaves:

1.      No rake, no bags. Leaving leaves on your lawn and mulching them with the lawn mower is a good way to insulate the grass over the winter. However, the leaves need to be in moderation. If there is too thick of a bed of leaves on the lawn, there is a risk of suffocating the lawn and creating disease. Once the leaves are all dry and crunchy, take the lawn mower over the lawn to mulch up the leaves. In the spring you are left with a healthier lawn and soil and very few leaf remnants on the lawn.

2.      Compost the leaves. Dedicate an area in your backyard for the compost, pile up the leaves and let them go to work. You do however need to make sure you turn the pile to ensure the correct amount of moisture.

3.      Planter beds. Mulch leaves and use them to build planter beds. This would be the most natural mulch, with no added chemicals and colouring.

And there are many other alternatives out there, just make sure one of your alternatives isn’t raking on a windy day.. not fun!

I wish I would have thought of all of this before Mike and I spent our afternoon filling 25 bags of leaves for compost by the City. So for now, we will continue to ‘keep up with the Jones’.

 Have you tried any of these alternatives?